Hayley Atwell's machine gun fun

Hayley Atwell has told how much fun she had wielding a machine gun on set of Captain America: The First Avenger.

The Duchess star plays the comic book super hero's love interest Peggy Carter in the upcoming blockbuster, but reveals her character was no wallflower.

Hayley said: "I started off with a pistol and the director could clearly tell how much I loved working with it and said 'Oh just give her a machine gun' and I was like 'yes'!

"So I got to play with that for a few months. There's lots of action in it and I'd love to do more of it.

The Brideshead Revisited star revealed Peggy is a modern woman in the 3D blockbuster WWII movie.

She said: "I think she's quite stubborn, a slightly frustrated woman who struggles with being a woman in that time.

"But more importantly she's a modern woman and she sees something in Captain America that she relates to, and becomes kindred spirits. He treats her very differently to how she's been treated by lots of men, in this kind of dominated world she lives in. So she's very much a fighter

Hayley said she loved working with Fantastic Four star Chris Evans, who plays superhero soldier Captain America.

She said: "Chris was a gentleman. He's, I imagine, got so much more pressure than any of us, but yet he's incredibly sincere in this part, and very charming without being goofy, and very earnest in a way. He's a very talented guy and very bright, so it was a real pleasure to work with him."

::Hayley recently visited Nicaragua ahead of Christian Aid Week, and will raise money for the charity's projects. Further details are available at www.caweek.org.